Rating: 3 stars

Nick Monday is not your average private investigator. Despite his father's observation that he has the "social ambition of a fart", Nick manages to pay the bills by selling luck. Luck he poaches from others.

Inheriting his gift from his mother—who chose not to use her ability and died a brutal death by a speeding bus—

Nick at least knows he doesn't want to end up like her; but, he remains conflicted as to whether his ability to steal luck with just a handshake is a blessing or a curse.

Nick's San Francisco office stays afloat by selling luck on the black market to addicts. Living a fairly easy life under the radar, things begin to get complicated when the mayor's beautiful daughter offers him $100,000 to find her father's luck—luck that Nick stole. Then things go from complicated to potentially fatal when a Chinese mafia kingpin sets his sights on Nick and makes him an offer he'd better not refuse: get him some luck—or else.

Coming off his satirical incarnation-themed book Fated, S.G. Browne channels his inner Philip Marlowe to pen a noir-toned tale.

Browne has a pension for creating fun and interesting characters. Whereas in Fated luck was indeed an actual lady, Lucky Bastard transforms it into a commodity. Of course it’s Browne’s leading men who often steal the show, and Nick Monday doesn’t disappoint.

In a solid third effort, S.G. Browne continues his streak of entertaining and delighting readers with his humor-filled writing prowess and supernaturally-infused creative story-telling.
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Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Gallery Books (April 17, 2012)
ISBN-13: 978-1451657197